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Messe Basse

originally composed in 1881 in collaboration with André Messager whose movements, Kyrie and O salutaris, were dropped and replaced in December 1906 by Fauré's own Kyrie and Benedictus, itself a re-working of the Gloria discarded from the original version

Introduction

The Messe Basse (infelicitously named since, strictly speaking, a ‘Low Mass’ is one without music) had an even more complicated birth than the Requiem. It was undertaken in 1881 as a joint endeavour by Fauré and André Messager (the latter best known perhaps for his ballet Les deux pigeons and the opera Madame Chrysanthème). Of the five movements (‘Kyrie’, ‘Gloria’, ‘Sanctus’, ‘O Salutaris’ and ‘Agnus Dei’), three (‘Gloria’, ‘Sanctus’, ‘Agnus Dei’) were by Fauré, the other two by Messager. The setting was for three-part female choir with soloists, accompanied by a harmonium and a solo violin, although shortly after the first performance it was orchestrated, mainly by Messager (Fauré scored the ‘Agnus Dei’). The final version, omitting Messager’s movements but with a new ‘Kyrie’ by Fauré and a ‘Benedictus’ based on part of the now-abandoned ‘Gloria’, was completed in December 1906. In this four-movement version the orchestral accompaniment was replaced by an organ. The music, entirely by Fauré, is technically undemanding and has a certain Gallic charm.

Famously re-discovered by Rutter in the Bibliothèque Nationale in Paris after a century of neglect, the intimate original version of Fauré’s Requiem is performed here by the Cambridge Singers and members of the City of London Sinfonia.» More

This critically acclaimed album was recorded in January 2014 with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment and former choral scholar Gerald Finley. It faithfully recreates the 1889 premiere of the Requiem, the instruments and techniques used by t ...» More

Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, Grant us peace.

O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, have mercy upon us. O Lamb of God, that takest away the sins of the world, grant us peace.